The Hindu : National : Heading home with a stronger heart

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 12, 2005

National

National

Heading home with a stronger heart

NEW DELHI, FEB. 11. A maroon dupatta draped round her head and a shy smile seldom leaving her face, Ayesha was every bit a 13-year-old this Friday evening as she sought refuge in her father's arms in a room full of strangers. She was beaming because she could finally lead a "hearty" life.

Ayesha is the latest young visitor from Pakistan who will be heading home with a stronger heart thanks to an open heart surgery done by the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS).

Sponsored by the Lahore Rotary Club, she joins the list of many Pakistani children who have had a heart surgery under the club's "Gift of Life" programme. Her desire to see Veer Zaara may not have come true yet, but the Class VIII student who preferred to smile her way through than talk to the media at a briefing held here today, is glad that she can now lead a normal life. "I will have a lot to study since I missed two months of school," she said. For Ayesha's father M. Shahbaz, who found it difficult to treat his daughter for a long time due to financial restraints, the chance to get Ayesha treated by the best was a boon.

"We do have good hospitals in Pakistan doing the operation, but being a government servant I could not afford it. I had read about the goodwill exchange and contacted the Rotary Club for help. Our entire stay was brilliant. The people were so warm, inside and outside the hospital. We will be carrying back good memories," he said.

Travelling across the border for the first time, Mr. Shahbaz said that he did not have any doubts about the quality of Indian treatment as he had heard a lot about it.

"I had confidence that we are in safe hands," he said, about Ayesha's operation by a team of doctors led by Dr. Madhav Naik, Dr. Shahadulla and Dr. Vijaya Raghavan.

The operation may have meant staying away from home and friends, but now with the ordeal over, Ayesha is hoping to catch up on lost time. About her trip to India, she said that it was nice and she liked it, but was clearly more thrilled about going home to her friends.

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